Mouth



(No Model.)

W. A. CAMPBELL 8; S. KIEPER.

STRING HOLDER.

Patented June 30,.1-896.

INVENTORS M BY ORNEY .PNO'I'O-LRHOWASHINGTONJC.

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

\VILLIAM A. CAMPBELL, OF COLUMBUS, AND SAMUEL KIEFER, OF PORTS- MOUTH, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO WILLIAM S. SAOKETT.

STRING-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 563,013, dated. June 30, 1896. Application filed November 29,1895. Serial No- 570,555. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM A. CAMP- BELL, residing at Columbus, inthe county of Franklin, and SAMUEL KIEFER, residing at Portsmouth, in the county of Scioto, State of Ohio, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in String-Holders, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to the improvement of string-holders of that class which are adapted to be employed in stores or other similar places where wrapping-string is extensively used; and the objects of our invention are to provide an improved string -holder of this class of superior construction and arrangement of parts wherein improved means are provided for supporting a ball of string and retaining the free end in constant position for use; to so construct said strin g-holdin g device as to take up at all times any unnecessary slack in the string, and to provide other improvements, the details of construction of which will be more fully pointed out hereinafter. These objects we accomplish in the manner illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved string-holder, showing a portion of the casing broken away for the sake of clearness in illustration. Fig. 2 is a face view of my improvedstring-holder. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 00 a; of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line y y of Fig. 2.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

a represents a cylindrical casing, within which is pivoted to the back end or disk a of said casing a suitable reel 1). This reel, although it may be of any of the desirable or well-known forms, is preferably in the form of a wheel, and from the forward side of this wheel-rim are caused to project at desirable intervals reel-pins b, which are substantially hook-shaped, as shown.

0 represents a coiled spring, one end of which is rigidly connected with the pivot-pin b of the reel and the remaining end of which is connected, as indicated at c',with the disk at. The forward end or disk d of the casing 64 is provided with a doorway, within which is hinged a suitable door 01, the latter being adapted to be retained in a closed position by means of a suitable latch (1 Through the central portion of this doorway is formed an opening 61 e represents a suitable string-holding basket or receptacle, the latter being provided on its rear side with upwardly-extending supporting arms or hangers c, said arms being adapted to be hooked into engagement with suitable projections e on the outer face of the door d.

The outer or free end of the ball of string f, which is contained in the basket 6, is threaded through the opening at into the casin g, thence through a suitable eye or keeper g on the framework of the reel adjacent to its center, from which point said string extends through a second eye or staple g on the rim of said reel. From this staple g the string passes over one of the reel-pins b, from which point said string is passed about the circle of reelpins the desired number of times. From the reel the string passes outward and downward through an opening h in the bottom of the casing a.

The case a is adapted to be supported in any suitable manner at a desirable height above a counter or other convenient point, sufficient string being allowed to depend therefrom to enable the user to reach the same readily.

Pulling downward on the string in order to obtain a sufficient quantity for wrapping a package or other use not only results in an unwinding of the cord or portion thereof from the reel, but results, as will readily be seen, in a sufficient winding of the string to place the said reel under tension.

The desired amount of string being used and the depending end being released, it is evident that the reversed rotation of the reel, which will be caused by the tension of the spring 0, must result in said reel again taking up the slack in said string or the unavailable portion of the slack string. As the string is thus gradually used off the reel, it is evident that the reel will be fed from the ball through the opening 61 I From the construction and operation which we have described it will be seen that simple, reliable, and effective means are provided for taking up the slack of the string which depends from the string-holder and that the tangling of the string is entirely obviated, the free end thereof being always in position for use.

Having now fully described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a string-holder the combination with a casing, a spring-actuated reel contained in said casing and a hinged door in one face of said casing, of a string-holding bracket having a detachable and direct connection with said casing-door, said reel adapted to have Wound thereon a portion of the string from the ball and an opening-in the bottom of said I 5 casing to admit of the outward passage of said string, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

WILLIAM A. CAMPBELL.

SAMUEL KIEFER.

In presence of- NETTIE H. J ACKSON, J As. S. THOMAS. 

